Dressage Olympian leads Melbourne International Horse Trials

World Cup and Olympic dressage rider Heath Ryan is leading the CCI*** class at this weekend's Melbourne International Three Day Event at Werribee Park.

Ryan, from NSW, is at the top of the leaderboard riding Mystery Whisper on 39 penalty points, three points ahead of Sydney Olympic Gold Medallist Stuart Tinney on Panamera and Beijing Silver Medallist Sonja Johnson riding her 19 year-old Olympic horse, Ringwould Jaguar, on 45.6.

Tinney also sits in fourth place on his other mount, Vettori, while Beijing Silver Medallist Megan Jones rounds out the top five on Kirby Park Allofasudden.

Competition continues tomorrow with the challenging cross country phase of the event, which sees horse and rider combinations gallop through the grounds of Werribee Park mansion tackling a series of obstacles.

The CCI*** class doubles as a national selection trial for the World Equestrian Games, which will be held In Kentucky later this year.